Great Throughts Treasury

"God's children have these outward things with God Himself; they are as conduits to convey His favor to us, and the same love that moved God to give us heaven and happiness, moves Him to give us our daily bread."

"Grace makes us glorious because it puts glory upon the soul, carries the soul above all earthly things, tramples the world under her feet; it prevails against corruptions that foil ordinary men."

"Gracious persons in times of peace and quiet often underprize themselves and the graces of God in them, thinking that they lack faith, patience and love, who yet when God calls them out to suffer crosses, eminently by His grace shine forth in the eyes of others in the example of meek and quiet subjection."

"Having given up ourselves to God, let us comfort our souls that God is our God. When riches, and men, and our lives fail, yet God is ours. We are now God?s Davids, God?s Pauls, God?s Abrahams. He wants no company that hath Christ for his companion."

"He that attends to the Word of God, not only knows the words (which are but the shell) but he knows the things. He has spiritual light to know what faith and repentance are. There is at that time a spiritual echo in the soul. "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek" (Psalm 27. 8). Therefore must men judge of their profiting by the Word, not by carrying it in their memories, but by being made able by it to bear crosses and to resist temptations."

"He that seeks us before we sought Him, will He refuse us when we seek after Him? Let no man therefore despair or even be discouraged; if there be in you the height and depth, and length and breadth of sin, there is also much more the height and depth and length and breadth of mercy in God, and though we have played the harlot with many lovers, yet let us return again. For His thoughts are not as ours, and His mercies are the mercies of a reconciled God."

"He to whom this pilgrimage is over-sweet loves not heaven as he should; yet the pleasures of this life are so suitable to our nature that we would sit by them, only that God follows us with several crosses, therefore let us take in good part any cross, because it is out of heavenly love that we are exercised, lest we should surfeit upon things here below."

"However diligent we may be in our callings yet the ability and the blessing can only come from God. We pray for daily bread and He gives it though we labor for it. There is a gift of success and unless it be given us from above, we shall then with the disciples only toil but catch nothing all the day."

"I t is much to be desired that there were that love in all men to teach what they know, and that humility in others to be instructed in what they know not. God humbles sometimes great persons to learn of others that are meaner, and it is our duty to embrace the truth whoever brings it, and oftentimes ordinary persons are instruments of knowledge and comfort to many that are greater than themselves, as Aquila and Priscilla instructed Apollos."

"If any man be so ill-mannered when a friend shows him a spot on his garment that he grows angry, do we not judge him an unreasonable man? So when a man shall be told, "This will hinder your comfort another day," if men were not spiritually stupid and proud, would they swell and be angry with such a man? Therefore let us thankfully take the benefit of the judgment of others among whom we live. This was David's disposition when he was told of his danger from present temptation, as he was marching to slay Nabal and his household. So we should bless God and bless our friends that labor by their good counsel and advice to hinder us from any sinful course whatsoever it may be."

"If God hides His face from us what shall become of our souls? We are like the poor flower that opens and shuts with the sun. If God shines upon the heart of a man it opens; but if He withdraws Himself we hang down our heads; "Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled" (Psalm 30:7)."

"If God's mercy might be overcome with our sins we should overcome it every day. It must be rich mercy that can fully and forever satisfy the soul, and therefore the Apostle never speaks of it without the extensions of love, the height and depth. We Jack words; we lack thoughts to form any idea of it. We should therefore labor through grace to frame and raise our souls to rich and large conceptions and apprehensions of mercy that is sovereign and divine."

"If we desire to have the Spirit we must wait in the way of duty, as the Apostles waited many days before the Comforter came. We must also empty our souls of self-love and the love of the things of the world, and willingly entertain those crosses that bring our souls out of love with them. The children of Israel in the wilderness had no manna till they had spent their onions and garlic, so this world must be out of request with us before we can be spiritual. Let us through grace therefore, labor to see the excellency of spiritual things, and how cheap and poor must all the glory of the world appear! These things duly thought of and considered will make our desires more and more spiritual."

"If we do not find ourselves the people of God's delight, let us attend upon the means of salvation and wait God's good time, and not stand disputing, "Perhaps God hath not a purpose to save me", but zealous in obedience, cast ourselves into the arms of Christ and say, "If I perish, I will perish here.""

"If we have a time of sinning, God will have a time of punishing."

"If we would make it evident that our conversion is sound we must loathe and hate sin from the heart; now a man shall know his hatred of evil to be true, first if it be universal. He that hates sin truly hates all sin. Secondly, where there is true hatred it is fixed; there is no appeasing it, but by abolishing the thing it hates. Thirdly, hatred is a more rooted affection than anger; anger may be appeased, but hatred is against the whole kind. Fourthly, if our hatred be true, we hate all evil in ourselves first, and then in others. He that hates a toad would hate it most in his own bosom. Many like Judah are severe in censuring others but are partial to themselves (Genesis 38:24). Fifthly, he that hates sin truly, hates the greatest sin in the greatest measure; he hates all evil in a just proportion. Sixthly, our hatred is right if we can endure admonition and reproof for sin and not be enraged with him that tells us of it; therefore those that swell against reproof, hate not sin; only with this caution, it may be done with such indiscretion and self-love that a man may hate the reprover's proud manner. In disclosing our hatred of sin in others, we must consider our calling; it must be done in a sweet temper, reserving due respect to those to whom reproof is offered, that it may be done out of true zeal, and not out of anger nor pride."

"If we will walk aright in God's ways, let us have heaven daily in our eye, and the day of judgment, and times to come; so faith will steer the course of our lives, and breed love in the use of the means, and patience to pass under all conditions; let us have our eye with Moses upon Him that is invisible."

"In a combat a man indeed is never overcome (let him be never so vexed in the world) till his conscience be cracked; if his conscience be good and his cause stand upright, he conquers, and shall be more than a conqueror."

"In every evil work that we are tempted to, we always need delivering grace, as to every good work God's assisting grace."

"In prayer we tempt God if we ask that which we labor not for; our faithful endeavors must second our devotion, for to ask maintenance and not put our hands to the work is only to knock at the door and yet pull the door to us that it might not open. In this case, if we pray for grace and neglect the spring from whence it comes, how can we speed? It was a rule in ancient time, "Lay your hand to the plough and then pray." No man should pray without ploughing, nor plough without prayer."

"In the ark there was manna, which was a type of our sacraments; and the testaments, which was a type of the Word preached; and the rod of Aaron, a type of government. Wheresoever therefore there is spiritual manna and the Word preached and the rod of Aaron in the government, there is a true church though there be many personal corruptions."

"In the covenant of grace God intends the glory of His grace above all. Now faith is fit for it, because it has a uniting virtue to knit us to the Mediator and to lay hold of a thing out of ourselves; it empties the soul of all idea of worth or strength or excellence in the creature, and so it gives all the glory to God."

"In the exercise of our callings, when we think we shall do no good, but all things seem contrary, yet faith says, "God has set me here; I will cast in my net at Thy commandment." Let us look upon God and see what He commands, and then by faith cast ourselves upon Him and leave the success to God."

"In the godly, holy truths are conveyed by way of a taste; gracious men have a spiritual palate as well as a spiritual eye. Grace alters the spiritual taste."

"In the small seeds of plants lie hidden both bulk and branches, bud and fruit. In a few principles lie hidden all comfortable conclusions of holy truth. All these glorious fireworks of zeal and holiness in the saints had their beginning from a few sparks."

"In times of calamity God will take care of His fruitful trees, as in Deuteronomy 20:19. The Israelites were commanded not to destroy the trees that bear fruit; so though God's judgments come amongst us, yet God will take special care of His children that be fruitful; but the judgments of God will light heavy upon barren trees; though God may long endure barrenness in the want of means, yet He will not in the use of means. It were better for a bramble to be in the wilderness than in an orchard; nothing will keep the axe from the root but fruitfulness in God's vineyard."

"In trouble we are prone to forget all that we have heard and read that makes for our comfort. Now what is the reason that a man comes to think of that which otherwise he should never have called to mind? The Holy Ghost brings it to his remembrance; He is a Comforter, bringing to mind useful things at such times when we have most need of them."

"Is it not an unreasonable speech for a man at midnight to say, "It will never be day?" So it is an unreasonable thing for a man that is in trouble to say, "O Lord, I shall never get free of this; it will always be thus with me.""

"Is it not an unreasonable speech for a man at midnight to say, It will never be day? It is as unreasonable for a man in trouble to say, O Lord, I shall never get free; it will be always thus!"

"It has been an old imputation to charge distraction upon men of the greatest wisdom and sobriety? Now these things though true seem strange to natural men, and therefore when they see men earnest against sin, or making conscience of sin, they wonder at this commotion for trifles. But these men go on in a course of their own and make that the measure of all; those that are below them are profane, and those that are above them are indiscreet. By fanciful affections, they create idols, and then cry down spiritual things as folly. They have principles of their own, to love themselves and to love others only for themselves, and to hold on the strongest side and by no means expose themselves to danger. But when men begin to be religious, they deny all their own aims, and that makes their course seem madness to the world, and therefore they labor to breed an ill opinion of them, as if they were madmen and fools."

"It is a hard matter to find out the least measure of grace, and the greatest degree of formality, for as the portrait oftentimes exceeds the person, so does an hypocrite often make a greater show than the true Christian. The lowest exercise of saving grace is in spiritual desires, and these are known to be saving if they proceed from a taste of divine things, and not merely from the object in the Word."

"It is a true rule in divinity that God never takes away any blessing from His people but He gives them a better; when Elijah was taken from Elisha into heaven, God doubled His Spirit upon Elisha; if God take away wife or children, He gives better things for them."

"It is an evidence that we are partakers of God's grace, if we can look upon the lives of others much better than ours, and love and esteem them glorious. A man may see grace in others with a malignant eye, for natural men are so vainglorious that when they see the lives of other men outshine theirs, instead of imitation, they darken them; that grace they will not imitate, they will defame; therefore when persons can see grace in others and honor it in them, it is a sign they have grace themselves. Men can endure good in books and to hear good of men that are dead, but they cannot endure good in the lives of others to be in their eyes, especially when they come to compare themselves with them, they love not to be out-shined."

"It is an ill time to get grace when we should use grace; therefore that we may have less to do when it is enough to struggle with sickness, and that we may have nothing else to do but to die and comfortably to yield up our souls to God, oh, through grace let us be exact in our accounts every day!"

"It is as foolish an idea to think that we can fit ourselves for grace as if a child in the womb could forward its natural birth: if God has made us men, let us not make ourselves gods."

"It is atheism to pray and not wait on hope."

"It is God's free love that has cast us into these happy times of the Gospel, and it is further love that makes choice of some and leaves others. This should therefore teach us sound humility, considering that God must open the heart or else it will remain eternally shut."

"It is good to divert our sorrow for other things to the root of all, which is sin. Let our grief run most in that channel, that as sin bred grief, so grief may consume sin."

"It is hard to discern the working of Satan from our own corruptions, because for the most part he goes secretly along with them; he is like a pirate at sea who fires upon us under our own colors? Again, when we resist the motions of God's good Spirit, dislike His government, and give way to passion, then the devil enters. Let a man be unadvisedly angry, and the devil will make him envious and seek revenge; when passions are let loose they are chariots in which the devil rides; some by nature are prone to distrust and some to be too confident; now the devil joins with them and so draws them on further; he broods upon our corruptions; he sits as it were upon the souls of men, and there broods and hatches all sin. All the devils in hell cannot force us to sin. Satan works by suggestions, stirring up humors and fancies, but he cannot work upon the will; we betray ourselves by yielding before he can do us any harm; yet he ripens sin when cherished in the heart and brings it forth into actual transgression."

"It is not enough to know by the Word that there is strength and righteousness in Christ, but the Spirit must open the eyes of the soul to see, else we shall only have a natural knowledge of supernatural things. I t is necessary to have a supernatural light to see supernatural things, so as to change the soul, and therefore the Spirit only works faith to see Christ is mine. Further, only the Spirit can lead the conscience to rest, because He is greater than the conscience, and can answer all inward objections and quibbles of flesh and blood; unless therefore the Holy Ghost does effectually apply what Christ has done, the conscience will not be satisfied."

"It is not so easy a matter to pray as men think, and that in regard of the unspiritualness of our nature compared with the duty itself which is to draw near to a holy God; we cannot endure to sever ourselves from our lusts. There is also a great rebellion in our hearts against anything that is good. Satan also is a special enemy. When we go to God by prayer, the devil knows we go to fetch help and strength against him, and therefore he opposes all he can; but though many men mumble over a few prayers, yet indeed no man can pray as he ought but he that is within the covenant of grace and by the Holy Ghost."

"It is not sufficient for a Christian to have habitual grace; there is no vine can bring forth fruit without the fresh influences of heaven, though it be planted and well rooted in a good soil; so we cannot bring forth fruit unless God assists us; our former strength will not serve when a new temptation comes."

"It is over-curious to be exact about the first beginnings of grace because it falls by degrees like the dew undiscernably, and further, there is a great deal of wisdom as well as power in the working of grace. God offers no violence to the soul, but works sweetly yet strongly, and strongly yet sweetly. He goes so far without nature that we shall freely delight in grace. So that now the man sees great reason why he should alter his course. God does not overthrow nature; the stream is but changed, the man is the same."

"It is rebellion against God for a man to make away with himself; the very heathens could say that we must not go out of our station till we be called. It is the voice of Satan, "Cast thyself down," but what says Paul to the jailer, "Do thyself no harm: for we are all here." We should so carry ourselves that we may be content to stay here till God has done that work He has to do in us and by us, and then He will call us hence in the best time."

"It is the endeavor of an evil man to quench a great deal of good for a little ill; but Christ cherishes a little grace though there be a great deal of corruption, which yet is as offensive to Him as smoke to us, therefore we should labor to gain all we can by love and meekness."

"It is the peculiar wisdom of a Christian to pick arguments out of his worst condition to make him thankful; and if he be thankful he will be joyful; and so long as he is joyful he cannot be miserable, but happy."

"It is the policy of the devil to labor to make us slight the gracious work of conviction, for he knows that whatsoever is built upon a false foundation will come to nothing, and therefore he makes us slight the work of self-examination and searching ourselves; but slight this and slight all, for if you are careless in searching and examining yourself, you will also be partial in your repentance and obedience."

"It may be asked, how shall we know the Scriptures to be the Word of God? For answer, grant first, that there is a God, it will follow then that He must be worshipped and served, and that this service must be discovered to us, that we may know what He requires; and then let it be considered what Word of God can be different from this. Besides, God has blessed the superstition of the Jews (who were very strict to every letter) to preserve it for us; and the heretics, since the primitive church, have so observed one another that there can be no other than this Word. But we must further know that we must have something in our souls suitable to the truths contained in it before we can truly and savingly believe it to be the Word of God, so that we find it has a power in working upon our hearts and affections: "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32). Again, it has a divine operation to warm and pacify the soul, and power to make a I Felix tremble; it has a searching quality to divide between the marrow and the bone. We do not therefore only believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God because any man says so, or because the church says so, but also and principally, because we find it by experience working the same effects in us, that it speaks of itself. Therefore let us never rest till when we hear a promise, we may find something in us by the sanctifying Spirit that may be suitable to it, and so assuring us, that it is this Word alone that informs us of the good pleasure of God to us and of our duty towards Him."

"It were a thousand times better for many persons to be cast on a bed of sickness and to be God's prisoners, than so scandalously to abuse the health that they have had continued so long."

"Joy is right when it proceeds from right principles, from judgment and conscience, not from fancy and imagination; when judgment and conscience will bear him out; when there is fellowship between them both, for our joy must spring from peace, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God" (Romans 5:2). The Apostles began their Epistles with mercy, grace and peace; mercy in forgiveness, grace to renew our natures, and peace of conscience. These are things to be gloried in. If we find our sins pardoned, our persons accepted, and our nature renewed; we may comfort ourselves in health, in wealth, in wife, in children, in anything, because all come from the favor of God. We may joy in afflictions because there is a blessing in the worst things to further our eternal happiness. Though we cannot joy in affliction itself as being contrary to our nature, yet we may in the outcome; so that we rejoice aright when, having interest in God, we glory in the testimony of a good conscience; when looking inward, we find all at peace; when each of us can say upon good grounds that God is mine, and therefore all is mine, both life and death and all things, so far as they may serve for my truest good."